Lambadi Bible Stories (LMNLBS)

Overview

The Lambani (also called Lambadi, Banjara, or Gor) are a community of over 4.5 million people (45 lakhs) in India, originally nomadic tribes from Afghanistan who migrated through Rajasthan and dispersed across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Historical records note that the community assisted the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in carrying goods to southern India in the 17th century, with many subsequently settling in those regions. The Lambani are known for their distinctive embroidery traditions and have a rich oral culture well-suited to storying and audio scripture formats.

The Lambadi Bible Stories (2015) is an oral-based scripture resource produced for the Lambani community and distributed through Oral Bibles (oralbibles.org). Given the community's traditionally oral culture and nomadic heritage, this format — biblical stories in audio form — is a particularly effective means of engagement. IBT India has been active in the Lambani translation project, which has also produced the Lambadi Common Language Version New Testament (LMNBSI, 2018).

Language and People

Lambadi (ISO 639-3: lmn) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by over 4.5 million people across multiple Indian states, primarily Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It is also known as Gor-boli. The language is written in the Telugu script in some regions.

Publishing and Organizations

Published 2015. Distributed by Oral Bibles.

References